How to defeat Malekith, the Black Blade in Elden Ring

Elden Ring has few mandatory bosses, compared to previous Soulsborne games. After progressing in the story and igniting the kiln at the Forge of the Giants, you will be transported to Crumbling Farum Azula. You can leave the area as you progress, but you cannot advance the story without clearing the final boss of the area — Malekith, the Black Blade. He’s extremely difficult to fight, so here’s how to defeat Malekith, the Black Blade in Elden Ring.

Preparation

There is a little bit of preparation you can do if you are confident in your parry abilities. First, head to the Beside the Great Bridge Site of Grace and head up. Instead of going straight towards the boss door, head down the flight of stairs and walk across the walkway. There are a few dragon enemies feigning death around here, so use target lock to find and eliminate them.

Continue progressing until you see a long bridge. At the end of the bridge you will be invaded by NPC Bernahl, who you may remember from the Volcano Manor assassination quests. He will mostly try to rush you while two-handing his weapon, but be on the lookout for when he raises it aloft. This causes a massive AoE that drains your health and heals him — try to avoid it at all costs. Beating him and advancing into the room behind him grants you the Blasphemous Claw, a usable item that acts as a parry to some of Malekith’s attacks. The room has three hidden dragon enemies, so be wary as you enter.

We also recommend summoning two players for this encounter. Malekith is very fast and hits very hard, and bouncing aggro from one player to another takes pressure off to allow for healing. If you choose to go it solo, bleed and Mimic Tear Ash Summons are your best bet.

Strategy

Malekith is actually a two-part fight, starting with the Beast Clergyman before transforming. Beast Clergyman uses Beast incantations, such as Bestial Sling and Beast Claw. This first form isn’t terribly difficult — all of his attacks have normal wind-up and good tells, so with practice you can dodge everything he throws at you. When he reaches 60% life, a forced cutscene occurs and the much more difficult Malekith comes out.

Malekith will begin the fight with one of two attacks that is usually, but not always targeted at the Host of Fingers: a three to four hit melee combo or a four to six hit ranged combo. The melee combo is fairly simple to dodge — roll as his arm starts to come out with each swing, and always roll to the side to avoid the overhead smash. The ranged attack is a little more devious, as there is a very slight time delay due to the wave attacks traveling towards you. After the second or third wave attack, he will immediately close the gap for a massive melee swipe, which can one-shot you, so be on the lookout for that.

When Malekith stabs his sword into the ground, he is preparing to do one of two huge AoE attacks. The first is a small localized explosion that hurts, but isn’t usually lethal. The tell for this AoE is if black flames start to spew from his blade. The second, however, generates a massive AoE of whirling blades that can kill you if not avoided or blocked. If you picked up the Blasphemous Claw mentioned above, you can parry many of his melee attacks. The timing for this is extremely tight, however, and can lead to death if ill-timed, so practice will be necessary.

Recommended weapons include anything that builds Bleed, as well as most high-level Sorceries — a useful weapon if you are a Faith build is the Blasphemous Blade, as it’s Taker’s Flame art can deal 1,000 damage or more to the boss per shot. Be wary of the long recovery time however. Whichever weapon you choose should be upgraded to it’s maximum level.